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Your Webinar Questions, Answered
During our recent webinar, we received more questions than time allowed us to address. We have compiled the unanswered questions below, along with thorough responses from our faculty, to ensure every participant walks away with the clarity and insights they came for.
St. Jude–VIVA Survivorship Series 4 #4: Integrative Medicine (27 March 2026)
1. Can there be an integrative paediatric palliative care approach, or is this terminology redundant?
Yes, there is already such clinics internationally. In Singapore though, TCM and Standard medicine is still separate and not under "one umbrella system".
2. Can neonates with cancer receive traditional Chinese medicine (TCM)?
Can and clinically occured in Singapore albeit uncommonly and common enough in China, with appropriate medical background and (weekly) professional's advice and management. Have to be monitored closely.
3. For oncology patients receiving active treatment (e.g. chemotherapy or post‑ASCT), how can TCM therapies—particularly herbal formulas such as Xiang Sha Liu Jun Zi Tang—be safely integrated while minimising herb–drug interactions and ensuring liver function safety?
Much as we try to avoid "herb-drug interaction", with many assumption that "all" the interaction are "bad". The outcomes may not be "entirely negative”. Clinically and in some research publications, the adverse events reported are very low for "low-risk" TCM oral herbal medicine (like Xiang Sha Liu Jun Zi Tang) with Standard medication within short periods of days. Liver function safety are already being monitored during frequent regular and function blood tests done by Standard care. Clinically, my patients will not take the medication 1day before and after and on the chemotherapy day itself. The prescription dispensed follow international clinical guidelines (mostly published by the Chinese side) are being conservative with the sole objective of symptoms alleviation, and very close to "Food therapy" 食疗药膳, due to TCM having the core concept that "药食同源": herbs and food come from the same source.